Trump publicly urges US Justice Department to charge his enemies

WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump publicly urged his Justice Department on Sept 20 to take action against his enemies, the latest in a series of moves that critics said have shattered the agency’s traditional independence.

In a social media post addressing “Pam” – apparently Attorney-General Pam Bondi – he fumed over the lack of legal action against California Senator Adam Schiff and New York Attorney General Letitia James, both Democrats.

The duo are among a handful of people accused by a close Trump ally, Federal Housing Finance Agency director Bill Pulte, of falsifying documents on mortgage applications.

“We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility,” Mr Trump said.

On Sept 19, he

fired the federal prosecutor

overseeing the probe into Ms James, after the attorney reportedly insisted there was insufficient evidence to charge her with mortgage fraud.

Mr Erik Siebert, US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, told staff of his resignation via an e-mail on Sept 19, the New York Times and other US media outlets reported.

“I fired him, and there is a GREAT CASE, and many lawyers, and legal pundits, say so,” Mr Trump said on Sept 20, apparently referencing the probe into Ms James.

Mr Schiff and Ms James have clashed with Mr Trump in prior years, leading investigations that the Republican President alleges were political witch hunts.

During Mr Trump’s first term in the White House, Mr Schiff, then a member of the US House,

led the prosecution

at the president’s first impeachment trial, which was based on allegations he pressured Ukraine to interfere in the 2020 election.

Mr Trump was acquitted by the Senate then, and again in 2021 when he was impeached for “incitement of insurrection” connected to a

Jan 6, 2021 invasion of Congress

by his supporters.

After Mr Trump left the White House, Ms James brought a

major civil fraud case against him

, alleging he and his company unlawfully inflated his wealth and manipulated the value of properties to obtain favourable bank loans or insurance terms.

A state judge ordered Mr Trump to pay US$464 million (S$596 million) in that suit, but a higher court later removed the financial penalty while upholding the underlying judgment.

“They impeached me twice, and indicted me (5 times!), OVER NOTHING. JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!” Mr Trump wrote on Sept 20.

He has also been convicted of 34 felonies related to hush money payments to a porn star.

Earlier in September, a US appeals court upheld a jury’s US$83.3 million penalty against Mr Trump for defaming author E. Jean Carroll, whom he was found to have sexually assaulted.

Investigations into Mr Trump over alleged mishandling of classified material and attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election were abandoned when he was re-elected last year.

Mr Trump said he would be nominating White House aide Lindsey Halligan, who has been leading a review of the Smithsonian Institution’s content for “divisive or partisan narratives” to fill Mr Siebert’s position. AFP